3 rookie backs among rushers with 1,000 yards

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, December 11, 2008

Texans running back Steve Slaton has been the NFL's most prolific rusher in the last four weeks.

Texans running back Steve Slaton has been the NFL's most prolific rusher in the last four weeks.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

Texans RB Slaton getting a run for his money

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Just a month ago, Texans coach Gary Kubiak was worried about his first-year running back. Steve Slaton was a little banged up, and Kubiak tried reducing Slaton’s playing time to rest him. There was clear concern he might hit the proverbial rookie wall.

Slaton insisted he was going to be fine and has since followed through on his word. In the past four weeks, Slaton has been the most prolific running back in the NFL. In that span, he leads all backs with 479 rushing yards, and he leads the league with 571 yards from scrimmage.

But there’s still one pack of players Slaton is chasing. Two fellow rookies rank higher than him in total rushing yards, and Slaton has just three weeks remaining in this year’s campaign to top them.

This week, he will face off against Titans running back Chris Johnson, who leads all rookies with 1,094 rushing yards. The Chicago Bears’ Matt Forte is second with 1,081, and Slaton is third with 1,024.

The Texans’ defense can help Slaton make up some ground in the final weeks as the team plays both backs down the stretch.

“You kind of want to be up there by yourself, but it’s an honor to be up there with these guys,” said Slaton. “It’s a hard league, and there aren’t many rookies who can come up and compete like that.”

Johnson and Slaton have been especially impressive. They have the opportunity to join just nine rookies in NFL history who have rushed for 1,000 yards while maintaining an average of 5.0 yards per carry.

“They both give you the opportunity to make big plays,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “I think they’ve both surprised everybody in this league as far as how well they’ve held up in all phases of the game — pass protection, down-in, down-out backs. We knew they would be good third-down players, but they’ve both had a big impact on their football teams, and they’re two exciting young men that have got bright futures.”

The Titans have found a potent combination in Johnson and LenDale White. The two have complemented each other well because of Johnson’s speed and White’s power. They have 22 rushing touchdowns between them, with Johnson having scored eight.

The Titans are also well aware of Slaton. In the third week of the season, he broke off a 50-yard run against them, finishing with a total of 116 rushing yards. He is the only back all season to rush for 100 yards against the Titans’ defense.

“He’s got change of direction and vision,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said of Slaton. “They’re doing a really good job up front with the run game, with the blocking scheme. They do a very good job on the back side to allow him to cut back. When you’ve got receivers and tight ends like they have, it’s difficult to focus in on one phase of their offense.”

Slaton, a third-round pick by the Texans, will spend the next three weeks matching up against running backs who were selected in earlier rounds. Aside from Johnson and Forte, the Texans will play the Raiders and Darren McFadden in two weeks.

Slaton’s teammates hope he finishes the season ahead of all of them.

“He’s breaking franchise records and consistently going over 100 yards,” said left tackle Duane Brown. “You know, that’s big in this league to have a running back rush for over 1,000 yards. That’s not common these days against the defenses that you face. He’s done a heck of a job, and we still have three weeks left, so we’ll see what else he can do.”